The zebra analysis tool projects stripes onto a surface so that you can inspect the continuity between surfaces.
Surface continuity is a measure of how smoothly two surfaces flow into each other. A car hood, for example, can be composed of multiple small surfaces that appear to be one because of the smoothness of the surface continuity.
Note: Analysis tools only work in the 3D visual styles; they will not work in 2D.
How to Interpret the Zebra Stripes
In the seam where two surfaces meet, the way that the zebra stripes align and curve tells you a lot about the smoothness of the join.
- G0 Position. The position of the surface edges is collocated; they touch. But the tangency and curvature do not match. The zebra stripes do not line up.
- G1 Tangency. The position and tangency of surfaces is the same. This indicates G1 (G0 + G1 or position + tangency). The zebra stripes line up, but they veer away from one another at sharp curves.
- G2 Curvature. The position, tangency, and curvature of the surface edges is the same. This indicates G2 (G0 + G1 + G2 or position + tangency + curvature).
The stripes line up, but they do not veer away from each other at sharp curves (because they share the same curvature). This distinction is subtle and a little harder to discern from G1 continuity.
